To the town

In the morning, Gozuki finally returned which made everyone tense up. All of them turned their attention to Zero, waiting only for Gozuki's instructions.

"Heh, no need to be so tense first thing in the morning. It seems like you have been telling the truth, Zero." Gozuki shrugged his shoulders with a faint smile which made most of them heave a sigh of relief, Zero himself was feeling relieved despite not showing it on the outside. In response, he just lowered his head with closed eyes.

"Truth be told, you have got me impressed. No matter how reluctant I am to admit it, there aren't many soldiers who would continue the mission if they were in your position. Such loyalty is always sought after no matter where you go." Gozuki started praising Zero which got everyone whispering but Zero himself just secretly grit his teeth as he listened in silence.

"Sir, I am not worthy of your praise. It's been my job to deliver the message and I simply finished it. If I were to run away, I would stain the honor of my comrades who lost their lives during the ambush." Zero decided to play humble and pitiful cards. He was well aware why Gozuki was saying all that nonsense and frankly he wouldn't care if it only did not overlap with his plans to search for the information about the killers responsible for slaughtering his entire village.

"Hmm, if only the others would have at least half of your humbleness" Gozuki sighed as he looked at the group of 7.

"It's just that he has no backbone. If I had half of his humbleness, I would have most likely been a corpse already." Guy said while stretching his neck to the sides.

"Maybe you would, however, it's still those humble types that are usually the most cunning and vicious, don't you agree with me, Najasho?" Gozuki said with a wide smile while staring at Zero with cold eyes before he asked Najasho to which he just calmly nodded his head with closed eyes.

'At least it looks like he no longer thinks of me as an enemy...for now'

"Still, I found a single corpse with its head cleanly cut-off deeper in the forest. Care to explain this to me? Since it was missing clothes, I assume they were those you took as evidence. However, I couldn't find any injuries other than pierce injury at the back of his knee."

"Of course, I managed to capture one of the mercenaries alive when he was already exhausted so I took him away from the battlefield where danger beasts could show up at any moment. I planned to interrogate him for information about their group since I wasn't familiar with Tengu mercenaries' clothes. I managed to talk him into telling me without torturing him since his morale was already low and I had no time for such procedures, still, the information he gave me is close to worthless." Zero explained in detail.

"Haha, I can trust your words, you indeed have a silver tongue for a kid. You might be able to even trick me if I am not careful enough around you." Gozuki laughed, flashing Zero a smile that was inducing a dangerous feeling in Zero.

Gozuki finally directed his attention to his team and told everyone that the enemy got portraits of Green and Najasho. He didn't even care that Zero was around which made Zero think whether he should even bother asking if he can return to the Capital.

"...Aren't you going to ask for your next course of action or whether you can return now?" Gozuki asked Zero when he was done giving out instructions to Green and Najasho who were to remain in the mountains.

"Wha-" Zero wanted to ask just for the sake of replying but Gozuki interrupted him.

"You are a clever kid, you probably already know from the circumstances. Still, don't worry, I have no plans of getting rid of someone like you even if you know of our unit, it's not like it won't get spread around in a while. Plus it sounds like you get along with the others, you might fit in the group."

"Looks like I will tag along...until the news of this unit gets spread around, right? Still, I am no assassin, sir. I have no experience in that field. Not to mention, I survived only thanks to my luck and resourcefulness."

"Yes, until the news of our unit gets spread around...Don't worry, luck and resourcefulness are also part of your skills. We might even find a use for that silver tongue of yours so welcome to the team, for now, haha" Gozuki said and patted Zero on his shoulder while laughing which gave Zero a creepy feeling.

"Welcome to the team!" Everyone except for Najasho welcomed Zero.

"...Welcome" Najasho finally said however it was visible that he was still suspicious of Zero.

.

.

The moment they decided it's time to go to the town, Guy ran off first, leaving the group with the words "I am going to investigate the town and its surroundings"

By the girls' expressions, Zero safely assumed that he just went to fool around. In truth, Guy was probably the most likable in Zero's eyes since he looked very simple. A buff guy who shamelessly enjoys his life while he can, Zero didn't mind people like him therefore he was hoping Guy would be responsible for looking after him. Not only would he be able to get along with him, but he might also even be able to trick him to get some time alone to explore.

"Sir, can't I remain in the mountains with the others? Our group might look strange if there is only one male among the group of 4 girls" Zero asked while following after Gozuki together with the others who seemed to think about his words too.

"Ain't I male too? However, it would be better if you stop acting so polite with me when in public. I would rather have you around the girls, of course, that is unless there is a reason you fear going to the town." Gozuki replied with an amused tone.

"Understood"